Coroner: Erie County Prison inmate died of lethal drug mixture

A 35-year-old Erie County Prison inmate died in early May of lethal doses of two drugs, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said on Wednesday.

Cook identified the man as Steven J. Burkhart, an Erie resident, and ruled his death accidental due to combined drug toxicity.

Cook did not disclose the drugs found in the man's system, but said one was a prescription drug and the other was not.

Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper has said authorities believed heroin might have been involved.

Cook said to his office's knowledge, the prescription drug was not prescribed to the man.

Cook had been waiting on toxicology reports to rule on the cause of death.

District Attorney Jack Daneri, whose office's detectives have been investigating the case, said Wednesday that the investigation is continuing. He declined to comment further.

Dahlkemper said her office is awaiting investigation results.

"I have not received the toxicology report and have no knowledge of it,'' Dahlkemper said Wednesday. "It's an ongoing investigation through the District Attorney's Office, and we're waiting word from the DA on their investigation.''

Dahlkemper commented after Burkhart's death about the possibility of a heroin overdose. She also said prison officials conducted a drug sweep at the facility after the overdose, but found nothing.

"Obviously, they've been doing an investigation since this happened, trying to figure out how (drugs) got into the prison in the first place,' Dahlkemper said at the time.

Burkhart died at UPMC Hamot on May 5. He was taken to the hospital after he became ill at the prison on May 2, according to prison officials.

Burkhart, of the 4200 block of Regis Drive, was incarcerated while awaiting prosecution on retail theft charges from incidents April 5 and April 6, according to court records.

He was unable to make bond of $500, or 10 percent of the full $5,000, according to court records.